The global drug device combination market accounted for USD 89.5 billion in 2015 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of over 7.9% during the forecast period. The incorporation of minimally invasive alternatives owing to the growing preference for these combination products is a high-impact rendering growth driver. The subsequent increase in the adoption rate is believed to be a consequence of benefits associated with these products, which propelled their incorporation in the treatment of target diseases.

The benefits typically include significant reduction in pain levels, duration of hospital stay, and overall healthcare cost. The other merits include synergistic effects and helps in facilitating multi-target treatment, improved tolerance levels, simplification of dosage regime as well as improvements in symptomatic and pharmacokinetic profiles. These aforementioned benefits are anticipated to heighten the demand and present the market with lucrative growth opportunities.

In addition, unprecedented growth in the development of clinical drugs and devices achieved by the large pharmaceutical companies are believed to meet the demand for advanced medication delivery technologies. This is believed to result in extensive product pipelines and maximized commercial returns on already established products, thus serving as a significant growth factor for the vertical.

Furthermore, the increasing presence of regulatory healthcare authorities enforcing clearly defined protocols for premarket authorizations is anticipated to support manufacturers in gaining approvals for their products. Recently, the U.S. FDA incorporated the lean management process mapping approach to build a more cohesive, streamlined, systematic, and collaborative system for the review of the aforementioned products. For instance, the draft released by the U.S.FDA with respect to good manufacturing practices for combination products aims to minimize the potential hazards involved in manufacturing these products, thus assuring higher quality. Also, the safety guidelines and recommendations issued by these authorities are presumed to increase the adoption of these products in future and boost the overall growth during the forecast period.

With the emergence of technological innovations including programmable external devices, employed to facilitate low & controlled medication administration is anticipated to accelerate the demand over the forecast period. Other advancements consist of targeted drug delivery systems, microdose infusions, and patient-controlled devices. The aforementioned innovations are believed to enable better patient outcomes and improve the safety profile of therapies, which is anticipated to drive patient and physician preference for these products in future.

Transdermal patch segment in the product segment accounted for the largest share in 2015.

Increasing preference for self-administration of medication in target diseases requiring long-term treatment, such as in patients suffering from diabetes, is expected to be responsible for the dominant share attained by the transdermal patch segment. The self-administration property associated with transdermal patches leads to better patient compliance and eliminates the risk of needle stick injuries and infections, which accelerates further the demand for the patches.

For instance, in diabetes, insulin is needed to be administered frequently into the patient's body via the intravenous route. This repeated usage of injections to deliver insulin causes pain and increase the risk of infection transmission, thus leading to heightened growth prospects for alternative drug delivery modes.

North America is the largest regional drug device combination market.

North America held the dominant share of the regional market with over 42.0% in 2015. The share acquired by this region is attributable to extensive new product development activities conducted by the prominent sector players across this region. Rising chronic disease burden in this region is believed to be one of the key potential growth factors responsible for the high clinical urgency to incorporate these products. The aforementioned factor is believed to have garnered the sizeable share by North America.

The Asia Pacific regional space is anticipated to grow at a rapid pace throughout the forecast period. The sizable growth is attributable to the increasing healthcare spending and physician awareness levels pertaining to the benefits of these products including low dosage requirement, timed release of medication, direct mitigation of device-centered infection using anti-infective medication in combination, and reduced systemic exposure. Stringent regulatory policies issued by the healthcare organizations to ensure high safety standards, as well as the improving healthcare infrastructure quality, is further expected to widen the scope for growth across this region.

Medtronic and Boston Scientific Corporation is some of the key players of the overall market.

Extensive expansion strategies, new product development activities, as well as mergers & acquisitions have resulted in the significant growth attained by the major players. In August 2016, Medtronic announced the launch of MiniMed 630G System, an insulin pump, in the U.S. This product launch was carried out to provide diabetes mellitus treatment to patients aged 16 and above and to facilitate personalized diabetes management.

In addition, in February 2016, Medtronic introduced the New Resolute Onyx drug eluting stent, commercially available in different sizes in Europe. This strategic initiative has supported Medtronic in expanding its geographical presence and in developing treatment options for patients suffering from coronary artery disease.